The first guitar James Thomas Shaheen ever picked up was his grandfather's 1963 Gibson. "I didn't have enough money to buy mom a mother's day or birthday present so I was like, 'You know what? I'm gonna figure out a song and I'm gonna play her a song,'" said Shaheen, 20.

"Obviously, the mother thing happened. She broke into tears and said it was the best song she ever heard."

That made Shaheen get serious about becoming a performer. "The spark lit the gas trail and it's been going strong ever since then.

"My grandmother made me a promise that day: 'If I ever learned to play a guitar well enough, then that guitar would be mine.' I eventually started playing music, getting in bands and she was like, 'This is yours. You earned this.'"

Shaheen became rapper JT Money when he was in the sixth grade. Later, his bands included the cover group SCMI, which stood for "Shaheen Couldn't Make It," referring to the time he couldn't make it to a concert with his friends.

Inches from Eden, a popular metal screamo band, was his first serious band. That ended for him when he went to Murray State University, where music took a back seat to politics. "Some political science friends started expanding my mind and I started questioning what was happening in our country."

Shaheen became Callaway County presidential campaign chairman for Ron Paul. "I'm a true Republican with a Libertarian streak."

He began writing politically themed songs when he joined the metal band, A Study in Scarlet. "Freedom to Fascism" is about the deterioration of American culture.

Screaming in A Study in Scarlet "pushed my range like it was Silly Putty. Just stretched it out. Now I can do anything with my voice."

He eventually decided he'd had enough screaming. "Screaming every night just simply does not have a good long-term effect on your vocals. I'm a singer. I always have been and I'm not about to risk my music career for this temporary project."

Shaheen now writes and sings mainstream acoustic rock in his new band, James Thomas. He recorded one of his new songs, "Unscripted," with musicians from the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. "It's time to focus on my songwriting."

Listen Up spotlights area performers. Michael Donahue can be reached at 529-2797.

James Thomas

6:30 p.m. Saturday at the New Daisy Theatre, 330 Beale. Tickets: $13. Call 525-8981 for more information.